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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879898">understanding</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewayofthemandalorian/pseuds/thewayofthemandalorian'>thewayofthemandalorian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Season 2 oneshots [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mutual Pining, Serious Injuries, Spoilers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:08:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,836</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewayofthemandalorian/pseuds/thewayofthemandalorian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILERS FOR 2.06 "Chapter 14: The Tragedy."</p><p>When you are hired to be a part of Boba Fett's crew, the last thing you expect is to become embroiled with the Mandalorian that Boba is tracking. As you and Mando get to know each other, an unexpected bond begins to form between the two of you.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Din Djarin/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Season 2 oneshots [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>understanding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Still internally screaming about this episode guys. I don’t even know where it’s going to go from here. Spoilers for 2.06 “Chapter 14: The Tragedy.” If you haven’t watched, proceed with caution or wait until you’ve watched the episode if you don’t want to be spoiled.</p><p>Warnings: Canon-typical violence, injuries, surgeries, a bit of mutual pining, spoilers for season 2.</p><p>Find me on tumblr: @thewayofthemandalorian</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It felt like you had been tracking the Mandalorian forever. Ever since your boss, Boba Fett had seen him riding away from Mos Pelgo with his armour, you, he, and Fennec Shand - Boba’s second in command - had been tracking this Mandalorian. A few times, Fett had lost the track or fallen behind when New Republic ships had shown up on the radar. For as intent as he was to catch up with this Mandalorian, he did not want to get involved with whatever the New Republic wanted with him.</p><p>You were recruited shortly after Boba Fett had seen the other Mandalorian ride away with his armour. Fennec was his right-hand woman, you were the - well, you weren’t sure what your job was, exactly. But you had impressive skills with a blaster, having grown up on Tatooine and fighting as a Rebel soldier against the Empire for a time before returning to Mos Eisley following the fall of the Empire.</p><p>It was nice to be off Tatooine. You didn’t want to go back there, too many bad memories from the war and even before. Following the war, you hadn’t had a choice but to go back there. It was where your family’s home was, and you didn’t have anywhere else to go. When you heard that the elusive Boba Fett was looking for someone to help him track down another Mandalorian, you jumped at the opportunity.</p><p>As <em>Slave I </em>landed next to the <em>Razor Crest</em>, Boba handed you a blaster. “Fennec, you’re lookout.” He turned to you. “You’re with me.”</p><p>As you got into position, you could faintly hear the Mandalorian shout at the small, green creature that was sitting on some sort of rock. “Hey! Snap out of it, we don’t have time for this!” It was then that you saw a faint blue beam rise up from where the child was sitting into the sky. You weren’t quite sure what you had expected when you decided to team up with Boba and Fennec, but it wasn’t quite this. “I’ll see if I can buy you some time. Can you <em>please </em>hurry up?” you heard the Mandalorian say.</p><p>
  <em>Dank farrik. </em>
</p><p>“Put your aim on the child.” You turned to Boba who had just given the order to Fennec.</p><p>Fennec’s reply was instant. “You got it.”</p><p>You stared at Boba in disbelief. “No. We’re not <em>hurting </em>that child!”</p><p>Before you could say anything else, Boba fired a shot from his rifle. He had sensed the Mandalorian before you did. “I’ve been tracking you, Mandalorian,” he said.</p><p>The Mandalorian eased his way out from behind the rock where he had taken cover. “Are you Jedi? Or are you after the child?”</p><p>That piqued your interest. While you worked with the Rebellion, you had crossed paths with Luke Skywalker once or twice, who was a Jedi.</p><p>You spoke up before Boba could. “We’re not here for the child.” You put your hands up in a pacifying manner, showing you meant this man no harm.</p><p>“We’re here for the armour,” Boba clarified.</p><p>This was something the other Mandalorian had not anticipated. He kept his blaster aimed at the both of you, noticing how you looked nervously in his direction. “If you want the armour, you’ll have to peel it off my dead body.”</p><p>You paid attention to their exchange with great interest, not having much to add. You knew little of the Mandalorian culture, but based on what Boba and the other Mandalorian were saying, it was an old, historied one with many variances.</p><p>As soon as you heard Boba say that Fennec had her aim on the child on the hill, you spoke up again. “Boba, don’t hurt him! He’s just a child, he has nothing to do with your armour!”</p><p>That interested the Mandalorian Din Djarin. Up until now, he had assumed that you didn’t care what happened, that you were an enforcer of Fett’s or something of that nature, even though you didn’t look the part. You were very pretty, he noticed. And compassionate, if that was how you reacted to the threat of a child that you did not know. Interesting. Very interesting.</p><p>You caught the Mandalorian’s gaze. “What?” you said sharply. “I saw you handling him earlier, he’s innocent. I don’t hurt innocents.”</p><p>“And if you remember,” Fennec said suddenly, “I don’t miss.”</p><p>Clearly Mando and Fennec had met before, given his response. “<em>Fennec</em>?!”</p><p>“You have a keen ear, Mando.”</p><p>Mando looked between you and Boba and back to where Fennec was positioned. “You point that thing away from the kid -” He activated something on his wrist. “Or I’ll kill you all where you stand.”</p><p>Boba implored everyone to put their weapons down. You gladly did. As much as you knew your way around a blaster, it wasn’t something you particularly enjoyed using. You wanted a break from all that, but something told you that wasn’t going to be happening any time soon.</p><p>* * *</p><p>As negotiations went on between Boba, Fennec, and Mando, you kept glancing in the direction of the child that was still surrounded by that faint blue glow. You didn’t know what was happening with him, but you hoped that he was all right.</p><p>“And what about you, <em>mesh’la</em>?” Mando’s modulated voice pulled you from your thoughts. You missed the way that Fennec and Boba glanced at each other at Mando’s use of the foreign word that meant nothing to you.</p><p>Din was glad that no one could see his face, embarrassment flushing his cheeks at the use of the Mando’a word for <em>beautiful</em>, slipping from his lips without thought.</p><p>“What about me?” you asked. “I’m nobody.”</p><p>“I have a hard time believing that.” It was your turn to feel flummoxed. “You’re here, aren’t you? Fennec’s his second-in-command it seems, Fett has a clear goal. What about you?”</p><p>You licked your lips nervously. “Oh, um. Adventure, I guess? But I wasn’t expecting …” You gestured vaguely. “… this.”</p><p>Boba promised protection of Mando and the child in exchange for the armour, alleviating your worry significantly.</p><p>But that relief was very, <em>very</em> short-lived as an Imperial-looking ship came into orbit.</p><p>Instantaneously, Mando was running towards the stone. Fennec and Boba were arming themselves again. You grabbed your blaster from where it sat next to Mando’s jet pack. You picked up the jet pack as well, knowing he’d probably need it before too long. You put it in your pack that was slung across yourself, watching as Mando ran at top speed.</p><p>A stormtrooper came up behind you. You didn’t even hesitate before shooting it with your blaster. Faintly you could hear the Mandalorian grunt. A moment later, a thud.</p><p>Glancing around you to make sure that Boba and Fennec had things covered - Boba could have taken on the entire army himself if he had to - you ran in the direction of the Mandalorian.</p><p>The child was serene, his eyes shut as the blue light continued to surround him. While you had known Luke Skywalker a little bit, nothing like this had ever happened when he had done … whatever it is that Jedi do. Mando was on the ground.</p><p>“Hey! Mando!” You shook him, the steel of his armour cold against your hand. He groaned a little, but did not stir. “<em>Dank farrik. </em>Did you do this?” you asked the child. The child didn’t respond.</p><p>Far below you could hear the firefight between Fennec, Boba, and the stormtroopers.</p><p>You tried again, shaking his shoulder with more force this time around. “<em>Mando</em>!”</p><p>Another Imperial ship landed next to the first one as Mando stirred. He jumped to his feet, not noticing you, his focus entirely on the kid. “That’s it kid, we gotta get out of here!”</p><p>The Mandalorian attempted to get near the apparent force-field again, struggling as he got closer. You reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. “Hey,” you said. “We don’t have time for you to pass out again.”</p><p>Mando didn’t listen as he grunted his way towards the force-field, being pushed back into you.</p><p>The two of you tumbled to the ground, Mando on top of you. “Ow,” you whined, hitting your head against a stone.</p><p>“Are you okay?” the Mandalorian asked instantly, not moving.</p><p>You nodded. “I’ll live.”</p><p>“Sorry, I didn’t mean to -” Mando cut himself off.</p><p>You shook your head. “It’s fine. We’re not all babies with force-fields on our side. But I’ll be a lot better if you get off of me.”</p><p><em>Oh. Right, </em>Din chided himself. He rolled off you, helping you to your feet. “Stay here with the kid. I’ll buy him some time, protect you two.” He had meant to say “protect Grogu.” But he felt the need to protect you as well, he noticed.</p><p>Mando had just gone down the slope of the hill when the force-field surrounding the baby disappeared. The baby blinked a few times, lay down, and fell asleep. You turned in the direction where Mando had gone.</p><p>“Mando! Mando! That weird force-field thing is gone!” You weren’t sure if he heard you. Suddenly, you saw the two Imperial ships take off. The child was safe. At least for the time being, you told yourself, if the stormtroopers were leaving. A minute later as you were nearing your way to the Mandalorian and your friends - if you could call them that - a missile hit one of the ships out of the sky, causing the other one to collapse as well.</p><p>You had just made it to the Mandalorian, opening your mouth to tell him the force-field was gone when his ship was suddenly gunned down. You went flying in the impact.</p><p><em>Oh</em>, you noticed, <em>there’s a piece of shrapnel coming from my abdomen. </em></p><p>And then you promptly passed out.</p><p>* * *</p><p>You came to as the Mandalorian pulled the piece of shrapnel from you. A sobbing scream escaped you involuntarily.</p><p>“I’m sorry, <em>mesh’la</em>. But you can’t die on us.” His voice was soothing.</p><p>Tears glazed your eyes as you nodded. You were on the <em>Slave I, </em>you noticed then.</p><p>“M-Mando. W-what happened? I was coming to tell you the kid was awake and then -” You realized then, as Mando took a pair of scissors to cut open your tunic, that the child wasn’t anywhere.</p><p>No. <em>No</em>. How could you be so <em>stupid</em>?</p><p>You nodded, just allowing his words to wash over you, wanting to go back to sleep. It didn’t hurt in sleep. “I’m sorry,” you whispered all the same. “I should have stayed with him. I thought - I was stupid.”</p><p>“You’re not stupid. I thought we were in the clear too. Then they blew up the <em>Crest. </em>We’re on our way to Nevarro. I have a … friend there, someone who can help us get him back.” Mando ripped your tunic, exposing the garish wound. You blinked back tears as he reached for a Bacta wipe. “I should really cauterize this. But Bacta should be enough until we can get to Nevarro. We’re not far.”</p><p>Mando’s voice was calm. He didn’t sound angry with you. How could he be angry with you? You assumed the threat was gone, same as you. He couldn’t blame you for thinking in the moment, for having hope.</p><p>“This is going to hurt. I’m sorry I don’t have anything for the pain.” As he placed the Bacta wipe on your wound, you gasped sharply, grasping at his free hand. It was then that you noticed that he had taken his gloves off, revealing his tan skin. He let you hold his hand as tightly as possible as he spread the Bacta wipe across your skin. “That should hold off infection. You should rest.” Mando squeezed your hand reassuringly.</p><p>Whimpering in pain, you nodded, stray tears of pain streaming down your cheeks. Mando wiped away one before he stood. “Wait.” Your voice was hoarse. “Stay. Please.”</p><p>You hardly knew this man. Yet you found that you wanted to know him. You trusted him. He seemed kind-hearted, wanting to do the right thing. If he asked you later, you would say that it was the pain speaking, but for right now, you needed him close. You trusted him in a way that you couldn’t with Fennec or Boba.</p><p>Din sat next to your cot as you fell into a restless sleep. He didn’t know you that well, but something about you had spoken to him. You had a yearning for adventure. A kindness that couldn’t be matched, and he felt himself drawn to you like a moth to flame.</p><p>He wondered if you would stay on with him instead of Fennec and Boba if he asked. Din knew that this was no life for you, but he needed a guiding light that you seemed to be. Another voice of reason. He wouldn’t ask until he had Grogu safe with him again and Boba and Fennec’s deal was reached. You had mentioned that Fett had only hired you to help him get his armour back. Which he had gotten.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he whispered. You stirred slightly but did not wake. Din didn’t know if he was speaking to you or to Grogu. He had meant to protect both you and the kid and you were this close to bleeding out and the kid was on an Imperial ship somewhere.</p><p>Fennec’s sudden appearance made him jump. “Sorry. We’re just about to land.” Din nodded. She glanced towards you. “Is she going to be all right?”</p><p>Mando looked up at her. “I hope so. There’s no cauterizer on here, which is what she needs. I used a Bacta wipe, which should hold off infection until I can get one.”</p><p>Fennec looked almost sad. “She was so lonely. I’ve never seen her so engaged with anyone before today. You’re special to her, Mando.”</p><p>Din didn’t say anything to her. You stirred as Fennec left. “Mando?”</p><p>The <em>Slave I </em>landed smoothly. “We’re here, <em>cyar’ika. </em>Not long. I just need to speak to my friend about a few things and then I can help you.”</p><p>* * *</p><p>Boba and Fennec stayed with the ship. Slinging an arm around you to help you walk steadily, Din and you made the short way from the dock to his friend’s office.</p><p>“What in the Maker’s name -?” you heard a woman’s voice say.</p><p>Mando shifted slightly. “Cara. She needs a cauterizer. My ship was destroyed by Imps, she got caught in the crossfire. And I need your help with something.”</p><p>The woman named Cara Dune opened a drawer. “And what is it that you need my help with?”</p><p>You only were vaguely paying attention to what Mando had to say as he lifted your shirt to start cauterizing. He said something about a guy named Mayfeld. A <em>criminal</em>? What did Mando need with a criminal? He explained as he lowered the cauterizer to your skin. “This is going to hurt, sweet girl.”</p><p>You missed the way Cara mouthed <em>sweet girl</em>? in Mando’s direction. At the impact, your hand seized out to Mando’s leg, grasping at it as an anchor as you groaned with pain.</p><p>“I know,” Mando soothed, blatantly ignoring the way that Cara stared at him, a knowing smirk growing on her lips. “Mayfeld knows those ships. I need someone who can help me get in and get out as quickly as possible.” When Cara hesitated, saying that she couldn’t operate that way anymore, Mando said, “They took the kid.”</p><p>That changed things.</p><p>Twenty minutes later, your wound fully cauterized and disinfected, you felt less hazy than you had. <em>Exhausted</em>, but more yourself. You introduced yourself to Cara properly, remembering vaguely that Mando had introduced the two of you earlier.</p><p>A few days later, you were preparing to storm the Imperial ship that Moff Gideon was on. Grogu was on that ship, too. You didn’t like Mayfeld, but he was the best person for the job, Mando had said.</p><p>Before your team of people could go in, you stopped Mando. “I um. I want to say something,” you said.</p><p>The Mandalorian had hardly left your side as you slept off the rest of your injury. It would scar, he told you, but scars were to be worn with pride. As proof that you survived. “What is it?” he asked, trying not to let his mind assume the worst.</p><p>“I - I don’t know what exactly it is that I could do. But I was wondering if after all this is over and we have Grogu back … if I could stay on with you.”</p><p>Relief, instant and satisfying, flooded Din’s veins. “I … am sure that we can find something for you to do, if that’s what you want.”</p><p>You smiled at the man you would one day call Din Djarin, your husband. It <em>was</em> what you wanted.</p><p>It was early days yet, and you knew that Mando and you needed to focus on getting his kid back safely was his top priority before he could find a Jedi to train him, but a life helping him was one that you could get used to.</p>
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